Sweet Potato with Cream Cheese, Cinnamon, Maple Syrup

Yes, I'm still moving. Who knew unpacking would be so time-consuming--and boring? LOL?

Of course, I'm concentrating on the kitchen. With a proper dish washer, I have been washing every single dish, pot, pan, utensil, bowl, I own. And it's a lot. Plus, I'm trying to downsize as I go. And keep organized.

As such, and with cluttered kitchen counters, disorganized cabinets, I keep cooking to a minimum. Well, complicated cooking.

One thing North Carolina is known for are sweet potatoes. This time of year, mountains of them, and I mean mountains, fill grocery stores and farmer markets alike. And it's no wonder as we are the country's leader of sweet potatoes and it is, in fact, my state's national vegetable. We produce over 70-80 billion pounds a year. And these ain't no scrawny sweet potatoes!

The other day, I had some cream cheese sitting on the counter and decided to add a spoonful to my mashed sweet potato along with a pat of butter. Wonderful. But it needed something more so I added a drizzle of maple syrup and loved the combo. 

The next day, I ratcheted it up a notch and added a sprinkle of Saigon cinnamon.

I boil my potatoes, but you could just as easily bake them. If you boil them and they come out overdone and too watery, simply add some instant potato flakes to thicken things up. Also works for regular mashed potatoes!

My favorite sweet potato recipe is a combo with apples. 

Truth be told . . . if I have them on hand, I love to simply mix in some frozen sweet peas . . . a bit of butter and yum!

See You in a Month or So ... (I'm Moving)

My counters are black/white/gold granite

Not my furnishings. Lots of wall space to hang art!

Lots more space and outdoor shed!

My apt. is across from white car,
ground floor. Morning sunlight.

I will most likely disappear for about a month or two as I prepare to move. My new apartment is only eleven minutes down the road; but, at my age, I will be 72 in September, moving is long and slow. August 21. The truck is scheduled for August 21. Wish me luck!

I have lived in my present apartment since I moved to North Carolina almost 16 years ago. I have more than enjoyed its rural setting, the woods, solitude and the wildlife. But I have to navigate one flight of steps to enter and to leave, which stresses my stiff legs and arthritic back. And it's just "old."

My new apartment has a bigger floor plan with a wonderful large, light and airy up-to-date kitchen. No stairs to climb. I can park right in front of my unit.

Sadly, no rural setting; so, my cat, Boo, may not be too happy. Change requires adjustment for everyone. But, he is getting older, too, and staying indoors more and more. I will, of course, miss my little garden.

Down the road I have Costco, Olive Garden, Chicken-Fil-A, Long Horn Steak House, Culvers, Aldi and Quick Trip. My favored grocery stores are close, too, minus all the usual traffic. 

When I get photos, I will post. In the meantime, continue to have a great summer and do peruse Kitchen Bounty recipes.

Oh, yea, now I have a large enough kitchen to create videos of my recipes. Fingers crossed!

Remember to subscribe if you  haven't. It costs nothing. I don't add you or sell your e-mail to anyone else.

Gary and Boo  

  

Cherry Clafoutis Recipe - How to Make A French Clafoutis

Cherry clafoutis is a cherished French dessert that appears on family tables and bistros in late spring and lasts as long as fresh cherries are available. If you ever made crepes or a Dutch Baby pancake, you can make a clafoutis. Of course, it was Julia Child who made it so wildly popular on her television show The French Chef.

This is neither a cake nor a flan. It is more akin to a Yorkshire pudding or popover. Yes, you can use other fresh fruits--even slices of banana! 

Line a pan with cherries, pour in the pop-over-like thin batter, place in the oven and voila! A wonderful summer dessert emerges! Sweet-baked cherries in a custard-like filling. What's not to like? Some add a spoonful of whipped cream--even vanilla ice cream!

First, some history. Some French adamantly insist the cherries should not be pitted because the pit contributes to both the aroma and the taste of the finished product. Some insist it should be eaten warm, not cold. Some add a bit of Kirsch, a cherry-like liquer--or a bit of cherry brandy. Some even add rum. You do you.

If guests are involved, I suggest pitting the cherries. It's not difficult and not worth the angst of someone choking on a pit or chipping a tooth or damaging dental work.

First, I will post Julia's original recipe followed by a video. Then I will post  one by Bruno Albouze, a chef I admire very much--and his creative-ingredients for a magnificent clafoutis. Followed by yet another from Recipe 30 whose clafoutis bakes rich and tall. The last video is for smaller versions (It is from Australia, the reason he has fresh cherries at Christmas.) All have great tips.

I have never used frozen, canned or dried cherries. There are many variations on You Tube, including ones for different fruits. I do not suggest raspberries because they can get mushy.

Julia Child's Cherry Clafoutis:

Serves 6-8 as a dessert; for breakfast, 4

BASIC BATTER:

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 3 cups fresh cherries, pitted
• Powder sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Using a blender, combine milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour. Blend until smooth.

Lightly butter an 8-cup baking dish and pour a 1/4 inch layer of the batter. Set remaining batter aside.

Place dish in oven for about 7-10 minutes until a film of batter sets in the pan but the mixture is not baked through. Remove from oven. Keep oven on.

Distribute pitted cherries over the set batter. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Pour remaining batter over cherries and sugar.

Bake for 45-60 minutes until Clafouti is puffed and golden and a knife inserted into the cent comes out clean.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.

(Banter) Advice to Graduates. Updated

 ADVICE TO GRADUATES

Gary T. Czerwinski

Since it's graduation time again, I'm re-posting this .... with a few
updates and today from its original publication of 2004.

(Receiving graduation invitations was part of having taught public school for twenty years. To bring something unique, I began devising “Advice to Graduates” that I sometimes slipped into cards. I’ve added to it year after year. And I probably will continue to do so. Such is life and its lessons.)

We live in an age of technology that is shrinking the world. Ironically, it is alienating societies and individuals. Tribalism isn’t diminishing, it is growing. So be careful to what “tribe” you choose to belong. In your lifetime, many will appear and beckon. And that includes techy toys. Do you own them? Or do they own you? If you are "woke," who is asleep?

Learn to spend a day or two without any technology, without electricity. Make it a family affair. Learn how to cook over an outdoor fire. Learn how to communicate without an electrical devise. Learn how to imagine. How to improvise. How to communicate verbally. Why? Because, one day, it may just save your life.

And learn how to preserve food!

Talking about food . . .  Governments and corporations are slowly, but intentionally, poisoning us. Beware where you buy your food. What you eat. What you feed your children. Teach your family how and what to cook. Read labels and ingredients. Food is a celebration of our planet and our Creator. It should be Christmas every single meal. A gift . . . God's gift to us. Manna.

We live in the prescribed "age of information" where we just have to push a button to find out anything.  Well, be very careful. "Easy" is often pleasurable. Instead, seek the responsible. Seek the reasonable and the logical. Think for yourself. Never mind media sources nor their minions ...

With information, there is also mis-information. I am sorry to inform you, but you go into the world and the future having to do even more homework. That is correct. Even more, not less, homework. Do not take any "opinion" for granted. Your life may/will/does depend on doing your own research. America was built during "The Age of Reason." Test and question all evidence. Even if it does not follow the "science" of the time in which you live. Or the popular opinion.

Speaking of science ... Sorry, but there are few "experts." Most are wrong. Remember Covid. Remember government leaders. It is okay to leave behind your family. Noah did not take aboard humans . . . Just animals. Think about that!

Much of what we learn in school is how to function in a group--not how to function on our own. When you can function on your own, you can never be alienated. Instead, you will become a magnet to attract others. 

Never underestimate the power of one. One has changed the world. One idea. One action. One vote. One step. One by one. Jesus. Ghandi. Assange.

Be an example. Examples stand alone. That is why they are presented at the beginning of the page of exercises to be solved. As of right now, this very minute, I challenge you to pledge to be a problem solver. Pledge, to be a solution in your life. Pledge to improve your generation and your country. From relationships, to jobs, to marriage, to parenting. Do not be a problem in all that you endeavor. No one enjoys complication! Keep it simple.

Trust in the Universe. It is our last frontier. Learn from it. The greatest strides in civilization have come from looking up, not down. The Universe is limitless and undiscovered. There are no horizons in space. No ups. No downs. No sideways. No Left. No Right. Don’t be afraid to make your own horizons. Make your own directions. Make sure your mind is as open and as vast as space itself. Is Earth flat? You  tell me!

And, yes, we are not alone in the Universe. Get used to it.

Honor Nature, for we are losing it minute by minute. We live on a wonderful, incredible, transformational  planet! What have you done to make it better? To preserve its beauty? To guarantee its success? Your body is your mini-me planet. Health is a life-long process. Honor it with physical nourishment. Spiritual nourishment. Academic nourishment.

Don't be a slob. Your environment is a reflection of your brain. And personal hygiene and dress is a reflection of common sense. Even a cat cleans itself.

Hey! It is okay to be afraid. Fear is often the harbinger of growth. Don’t run away! It is better to be scared and to go forward then not to be scared and end up going nowhere. As Einstein said, “Adversity is opportunity in disguise.”

There is no such thing as “absolute truth.” The purpose of being human, the purpose of being educated, the purpose of being civilized, and the responsibility of living in a civilized and free culture is to question and to learn. Learn from everything. Take what is best from all ideologies, cultures, individuals, religions. To do so means your are always CONSTRUCTING your life, not just LIVING a life. Not to do so means others are living your life for you. And that has led to every major war in our time.

Right now, your entire world has been contained within your home or your school. Even your town. You have won sport awards. You have run the fastest. You have broken records. You have achieved the most A's and B's. How wonderful. But now that all changes ... and you transcend from the safe womb of buildings to the scary life of the real world. Build. Build. Build.

I'm sorry, but no one really cares who you are. I know that sounds cruel, but that is just how life works. If you have awards, don't forget them, Instead, help others to also achieve. 

So, maybe you aren't the most successful ... But now is your chance. During events such as this, we talk about future, future, future. Well, no future is endless. Right now, you all have incredible decades ahead of you to decide who you are. Never give up!

Success really is measured in “having,” “getting,” and “acquiring.” And, yes, money really can make you happy. That is why we work. But it is also measured in what you give to others. And the grace and manner with which you receive when given to. For those to whom much is given, much is expected in return--even if it is only a jar of soup gifted to a neighbor.

Start an emergency savings account today. Put change in a jar. Bank dollar bills in a can in the freezer. Put it out of reach but within easy access. Pay your own way ... Be independent. And God will add it all up for you. In fact, invest in God's money, gold and silver. Hang onto it.

Remember Emerson who said we always know when we are about to do something that is wrong. Listen to that inner voice. Cultivate and meditate in its silence. Intuition can and will save your life. It can prove you innocent.

There is no such thing as a good secret. The easiest way to destroy a relationship, family, business, government, even yourself, is through secrets. There are two sides to every story. In politics, there are six.

Guess what? It really does make a difference who is the President of the United States. Don't just cast a vote, cast an informed vote. And do the same for every level of government. Don't skip your local elections. They are often the most important.

Life isn’t easy. It’s not supposed to be. You don’t have a right to expect it to be. Treasure its challenges as difficult as they may be. Difficulties are often hidden clues that point the way to your destiny and identity. Suffering will cleanse your pride and strengthen your humility. Much of life is a fight. If you aren’t fighting and arguing,  maybe you are not living.

Speaking of life . . . Life is creation! So never stop creating. Draw. Paint. Plant. Sculpt. Bake. Read. Think. Write. Sing. Compose. Share. But, for heaven’s sake, make something from nothing! Don’t be someone who makes nothing from everything.

Volunteer! Praise and support those who do! Join in! 

From this moment forward, life becomes less and less about you. And remember this: marriage is less about love than it is about the other person. Anyone can fall in love. And most do. But only half can love their other half more than they do themselves. And if you have children, life is all about them, not you. Grow up!

Marriage is for life. Choose wisely. 

  

When all else fails, family is all we got! Keep those doors open. But, if you can’t, if you have to close them, don’t turn the key. Don’t lock them out. Just close the door and keep the key in your pocket.

Children are like credit cards. Easy to get, difficult to pay off. Both begin with temptation. If you can’t afford either, don’t apply!

Pray. Choose a god. Choose a deity. Choose a rock. Choose something. But spend several minutes before beginning each day with a prayer. Say thank-you. Your prayer should be a life-long quest. And, remember, unanswered prayers are often the ones that actually have been answered. Learn discernment.

The most important events in our life are often the ones over which we have no control. Be receptive to chance and luck. It will change your life. Our time and the Universe’s time are not in sync. What seems bad or evil on our time often has better consequences and revelations on the Universe’s time down the road. Be patient. Read the skies.

Never give up. Never ever stop believing that there is good in the world. Your journey in life is to be that goodness!

Most of all, be happy! The test of its fruition lies in its foundation of responsibility, respect, honesty, patience, knowledge, truth, spirit, beauty. These things actually grow and multiply.  They will help others to grow, too.

Their opposites: lying, cheating, greed, ignorance, jealousy, envy, pride . . . are all short-lived and ultimately lead to their failure and destruction. Vote accordingly!

Now here is your last assignment: Keep this list and YOU start adding to it!

--copyright 2024 Gary T. Czerwinski